Russia's new ambassador to Turkey presents credentials to Erdogan

ANKARA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia's new ambassador to Turkey Alexei Yerkhov submitted his credentials to the Turkish president on Thursday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Yerkhov at the presidential complex in Ankara.

Russia appointed the new envoy on June 19, under a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin, to replace Andrey Karlov who was assassinated at an opening of an art gallery in Ankara last December, according to the report.

Putin described the shooting as a "provocation" designed to undermine bilateral ties.

Alexei Yerkhov was born on Oct. 28, 1960. He graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1983, and started his political career as a diplomat in 1996.

From 1996 to 2000, Yerkhov served as an adviser to the Russian embassy in Israel. Between 2003 and 2006, he was the minister-counselor of the Russian embassy in Syria.

Yerkhov served as the Russian Consul General in Istanbul during the period of 2009 to 2015.

From 2015 to 2017, he was the head of Russian Foreign Ministry's Crisis Management Center.